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A delicate balance of steroid and gonadotrophic hormones is essential for intrafollicular oocyte maturation and successful fertilization and embryonic development. Previous studies have demonstrated that a superovulatory dose of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) has excessive gonadotrophic a…
In vitro fertilization (IVF) has been achieved in several mammalian species, including humans. Using the technique of IVF and embryo transfer, pregnancies can now be established in infertile women and thousands of live births have occurred. However, many of the embryos transferred to the uterus fai…
Remodeling of the endometrial extracellular matrix, which occurs during the early stages of pregnancy in the human, is mediated by the temporal expression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) in both the maternal and fetal compartments and counterbalance…
It is well established that LH action is mediated primarily by adenylate cyclase/cAMP. Conversely, the role of inositol phosphate/calcium in LH signalling has only recently been investigated. We examined the effects of gonadotrophins on intracellular calcium mobilisation in HEK293 cells transiently…
This research responded to the need to define evidence-based criteria of maternal risk by developing a model - the Pre-eclampsia Integrated Estimate of RiSk (or PIERS) model ? that predicts a combined adverse maternal outcome (mortality and/or significant morbidities) within 48 hour of, and up to s…
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The studies undertaken herewithin sought to characterize the pattern of regulation of the gonadotrophin-releasing hormone receptor (GnRH-R) mRNA levels in the rat ovary. The demonstration of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) transcripts in steroidproducing and steroid-dependent tissues suggest…
Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women in developed countries. There is increasing evidence suggesting that the hormonal environment of the normal ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) and ovarian epithelial cancer (OEC) cells is as…
Epidemiological studies have shown that cholesterol is a major risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. Since the atherosclerotic plaque develops over a long period interventions early in life may be of some benefit. In addition, it has been shown that the enzymes involved in cholesterol…
Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) of atrial myocyte origin, has been shown to play a role in the diuresis, natriuresis, and antagonism of angiotensin and vasopressin. However, it is now apparent that in addition to the production of the peptide in the heart and in its role in fluid and electrolyte h…
In the present study, the effects of clomiphene citrate (CC) on ovulation, ovarian growth and ovarian steroidogenesis were examined. Ovulation in rats in response to PMSG was completely blocked by administration of three daily treatments of 1.0 mg CC/rat, but was restored by administration of hCG a…
The common epithelial ovarian tumors appear to arise from the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE), which is a simple squamous-to-cuboidal meso^helium covering the ovary. The exact mechanism of ovarian tumorigenesis is not well known even though this disease is the most frequent cause of cancer death i…
In contrast to the success of ICSI in treating male infertility, concerns have been raised about the health outcomes of the children conceived through this procedure. Cohort studies have shown that the ICSI population has an increase in low birth weight (LBW), birth defects, chromosomal abnormaliti…
Male carriers of chromosomal abnormalities (CA) are more frequent in the infertile population. These men have higher levels of sperm aneuploidy due to the aberrant segregation of the chromosomes involved in the abnormality. The presence of a CA may also influence the segregation of other chromosome…
Due to the ?flare effect? associated with the flare protocol, variation in the degree of follicular maturation during stimulation may result in differences in follicle response as compared to the luteal protocol which is based on maximal pituitary suppression and synchronization of follicular matur…
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has been a successful assisted reproductive technique for men with severe male-factor infertility. However, ICSI requires the subjective selection of normal looking sperm, which does not preclude the transmission of genetically abnormal sperm. Correlation bet…
While the introduction of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has revolutionized the treatment of male infertility, concerns have been raised regarding the risk of chromosomal abnormalities in pregnancies derived from ICSI. Studies on sperm from infertile men have suggested that this population…
Pre-eclampsia remains one of the most common causes of maternal mortality in the developed world, and we still have no known effective prophylaxis and proven modifiers. The recent successful clinical trial of recombinant human activated protein C (rhAPC) in the management of SIRS (systemic inflamma…
Homeobox genes, which code for families of transcription factors, act at the top of genetic hierarchies. HOX genes specify positional identity during development, and in adult tissues, regulate differentiation and proliferation. Most ovarian carcinomas are derived from the ovarian surface epitheliu…
Loss of BRCA1/BRCA2 function through genetic or epigenetic mechanisms is common in epithelial ovarian carcinomas (EOC), but because there are multiple potential mechanisms of loss, the overall frequency is unknown. We characterized loss of BRCA1/BRCA2 at the DNA, RNA and protein level from an unsel…
Pre-eclampsia (PET) continues to contribute to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Management decisions include an evaluation of maternal risk, which is assisted by expert opinion-based guidelines, while not accounting for gestational age (GA) at diagnosis. We evaluated the feasibility …